Chapter 1: The Betrayal

Olivia huddled herself on the chair in her small hostel room with the late afternoon brightness seeping through the thin curtains, it cast a warm glow on the worn-out furniture, and her textbooks were scattered on the desk before her.

Olivia was anxiously waiting for Matt, her boyfriend to call her back, so she picked up her phone and re-dialed his number hoping this time around he would pick up.

“Come on, Matt.” Olivia muttered, hearing the rings, "Pick up." It went to voicemail. She dialed his number again. She hung up and put down her phone as she was frustrated. 

Suddenly, she heard her phone beep notifying her of a text message. 

In quick succession, She picked it up hoping that it was from Matt in explanation of everything that had happened, but it wasn’t him. It was a notification about a post on social media. 

“What rubbish,” she said in annoyance, she thought it was a message from Matt. 

She clicked on the post and was surprised to see photos of her boyfriend Matt with an unknown girl. He was holding her hand, laughing, and even kissing her in one of the photos; they appeared warm and close.

Olivia felt like a bell was ringing in her head; her face was blurry, and her hands were trembling so much that her phone almost fell out of her grasp; she was dumbfounded.

“Who the hell is she, Matt?” Olivia whispered out loud, she's losing it. 

“No, this can’t be real,” she said with her heart racing, she tried calling him again. But it went to voicemail. 

“Why isn’t he picking up his call,” tears are beginning to well up in her eyes.

She clicked on one of the pictures, hoping for a misunderstanding, but it was true.

“Matt with his new girlfriend, Lily!” was the caption that appeared beneath the image. 

Olivia's hands trembled as she scrolled through the comments on the post. She was shocked to see Matt's comment on the post.

“The best of the best is mine, she's everything and more.”

The words entered into her heart like a knife; they swiveled and gouged it. The weight of reality pressed heavily on her making it almost impossible for Olivia to breathe as her chest constructed painfully.

She could not stop asking herself, "Is that why he has not been returning my calls? Is this why I could not reach him despite calling and visiting him several times?” Only for her to see his pictures all over the school platform. 

Olivia and Matt have been together for two years, and they loved each other, so she thought. 

“Is this what I get after two years, after all we've been through together, Matt.”

“No, this isn't happening,” she said, tears dripping down in her eyes. 

“This can’t be happening.” she gritted her teeth in anger. 

She reached out for her phone and dialed Matt's number again; it rang once, twice, and then someone picked up on the other end. "Hello?" came over the phone.

"Matt, why? How would you do this to me?" Olivia’s heart was pounding.

"Oh Olivia, it’s not so difficult, is it?"  Matt responded unconcerned.

"Not difficult?" Olivia's voice broke. "I thought you loved me, Matt. What did I do to deserve this?" 

"Loved you? Maybe I did, but things change." Matt chuckled mockingly.

"Things change?" Olivia cried. "And that is your excuse? How about all the moments……..we shared?"

Matt rudely cut her off, saying, "Look, Olivia, Lily's different. She’s what I want now; I moved on Olivia, and you should do the same."

“How on earth is she different? Am I not beautiful enough.” She shouted at the top of her voice with tears dripping from her eyes. 

“Oh Matt, you owe me an explanation!" she said as she was shocked by Matt’s words.

"Explanation?" Matt laughed. “I owe you no shit, nothing at all. We're done."

“Matt you..……” The line went dead before she could finish what she wanted to say.

She tried calling him again but the line did not go through; she couldn’t understand why Matt would do that to her.

Olivia's mind raced as memories of happier times spent with Matt flashed before her eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks as the line went dead. 

She recalled their late-night study sessions, whispered conversations, and the way he used to hold her hand and promise her the world, but it all felt like a cruel joke. 

“Ahhh, Why Matt?” She cried out loud. "How could you have done this to me?" What did I do to deserve this, Matt? I thought he loved me” 

Olivia was so upset and devastated that she sat down crying. "No, this is too much for me; I can’t handle it." 

Right then, her phone beeped again. It was her father who called this time.

“Olivia, where are you, and why have you not been taking my calls?” He spoke in a harsh tone.

“I’m in my dorm, Dad. What’s going on?” She spoke softly so he wouldn't know she was crying.

“I need you to come home immediately. We need to talk.”

Olivia’s heart sank further. “Is everything okay?”

“Just come home now.” The call ended abruptly. 

Olivia put the phone down while still shaking; her dad had never sounded that serious on the phone.

“I have to go, I’ll be fine. I need to find out what’s going on.” 

Returning home was an emotional blur for her. Olivia's mind was racing with thoughts of her father's strange call and Matt's betrayal. 

          ********

When she got to the front door of her family's residence, she inhaled deeply, trying not to show that something was wrong before entering.

She walked into the house and stood by the door to her father's room, her heart was beating fast at an alarming rate.

Collins Thompson sat with a stern and merciless face behind the grand oak desk in his room.  

There was tension between them within the small, dimly lit room that was filled with the strong smell of smoke from her father's cigarettes. 

“Sit down, Olivia”, he ordered. Not bothering to look up from what he was doing on his table.

Olivia obeyed, she sat at the edge of the chair near the brink of the room. Her hands were trembling nervously on her lap as she didn’t know what he would tell her.

She felt so little like a child waiting for someone to scold her even when she was a third-year university student.

The silence was killing her, every passing minute made her more anxious. The room felt stuffy, silent, and heavy. Olivia could tell by the look on her father's face that this would not be easy for her.  

Collins finally raised his head and looked up, his expression was dark and his eyes harsh and merciless.

“Do you know why I called you home?” he asked.

“No Dad.” Olivia replied, trying to calm herself.

“It's time you start taking responsibility for this family Olivia”, he said without a show of pity on his face. 

“We are drowning in debt, Olivia and the only way out is for you to marry Richard.…you will marry Richard!”